Update: Back in 2007 I believed the standard recommendations to minimize the amount of saturated fat we eat. I subsequently changed my position and now gladly seek out full-fat products. Many researchers have now debunked the belief that saturated fat is bad for us, and I have reviewed those findings in other articles on this blog.

Who doesn’t like a juicy hamburger, a tender steak or yummy beef ribs? What about cheese and cream? Unless you are a vegetarian, the chances are that these are some of your life’s joys.

But these foods are high in saturated fat, which is the worst culprit in raising total and LDL cholesterol levels. It’s saturated fat, not cholesterol in our diet, that is the problem with high cholesterol levels. “Dietary cholesterol has relatively little effect on blood cholesterol,” according to a review article in The Journal of Nutrition, Health and Aging.

“There appears to be a consistent positive association of cholesterol, saturated fat, and possibly trans-fatty acid intake and atherosclerotic disease,” according to a review article in Cardiology Clinics journal. “Saturated fat reduction is a primary goal for decreasing the risk of cardiovascular disease,” according to a recent review in Nutrition Reviews. “Epidemiological studies have confirmed a strong association between fat intake, especially saturated and trans fatty acids, plasma cholesterol levels and rate of coronary heart disease (CHD) mortality,” a review of “Dietary fatty acids and coronary heart disease” concluded.